SRUC Barony Campus recently welcomed Dumfries RFC juniors for their highly anticipated two day residential camp. The 35 children – aged between nine and twelve – had a ball of a time (no pun intended) taking part in various activities including tug of war, treasure hunts, learning about animal care, and of course, playing rugby.
Ed Barnes, Coach Development Manager, Dumfries Saints Rugby Club, says: “The general aim of the camp is to teach children to interact well together and develop social skills. The kids had a fantastic time, and behaved incredibly well. Parents and club coaches can take a huge amount of credit for this, for the conduct of each individual truly lived up to the values associated with Scottish Rugby – respect, leadership, engagement, enjoyment and achievement. Each child displayed these values in abundance.”
The first event on arrival was a tug of war challenge, with teams the Sharks, Highlanders, RBS and the Chiefs putting their all into it. After much huffing and puffing and the flexing of muscles, RBS, eventually came out on top.
Later on in the day came the really important part – rugby itself and coaches Stuart, Claire, Dave, Neville and Ed saw improvements in each age group. Despite being put their paces, the kids were still full of energy and threw themselves into a treasure hunt which aimed to engage the mind rather than the body.
From there it was into the Animal Care Unit and South Scotland Wild Life Sanctuary with SRUC Senior Instructor Rhonda Graham. The children saw budgies, iguanas, boas, tortoises and guinea pigs with many also allowed to handle the animals.
After a delicious dinner the group was once again busy, with problem solving activities the flavour of the evening in the sports hall. The kids competed to see who could build the tallest tower with paper cups and plates, with most even impressing when it came to the challenge to move empty cans using only uncooked spaghetti, no hands allowed!
The next day saw more rugby sessions which are designed to teach the kids all the facets of the game. The coaches use a conditioned games approach where the normal rules of a game can be changed so that the skill being learned occurs more often or has greater importance.
Ed says: “Many thanks must go SRUC Residential Manager Pearl Edgar and the other staff at the Barony Campus, they were terrific hosts and we will be seeing them again soon!”
